Dark Fall: Lost Souls

The Good
Mention must be made of the game interface, which featured a lot of good and some minor bad. As far as the good goes i was impressed by the somewhat innovative 1st person point and click system: Unlike previous games in the series there is full 360 degree panning. However, rather than using the usual dizzying 'panoramic nodes' the screen remains static as you move the mouse around. Clicking the arrows at the screen edges (including up and down) automatically pans the 'camera' angle around in the requested direction but in a smooth transition, rather than in the usual 'slideshow' fashion. This seemed to me to incorporate the best features of the traditional 'slideshow' perspective with the best features from the more more modern 'panoramic nodes' and is definetely something i would like to see taken up in more games as an alternative to either 'slideshow' presentation or the 'panoramic nodes'.

The story is immersive and has some very satisfying surprises. It is also far more focused than earlier games in the series, telling the story in a far more structured way. As usual for the Dark Fall series the game world is highly atmospheric. This time it has a particularly dark tone that i enjoyed a lot, far more phantasmagoric than the first game, 'the Journal'.

The Bad
The 'bad' in this game is somewhat hard to distinguish from the 'good'. Let me explain: What the game attempts to do it does very well but it may not always be in line with what players have come to expect from the series. The tone is substantially heavier, the horror more visceral (although still a long way from the blood and guts we see in many games). I found some locations in the game to be extremely disturbing and in terms of sheer, cumulative horror it far outstrips previous entries in the canon. However, what it gains in this department it loses in the quiet suspense of the earlier games and the believablity factor inherent in 'the Journal'; the sense that although dealing with supernatural concepts one could actually stumble into such a location in the real world. In this game you ae presented with what can only be genuine, honest to gosh ghosts, and worse, very early in the story. Although more horrific it is also conversely less creepy.

My biggest personal qualm with the game was its extreme linearity. There is very little choice given to the player as to how they explore the station and their investigation will follow a very strict route. At times the gameplay is almost reduced to a treasure hunt, with the player receiving cryptic messages through their mobile phone hinting at where the next objects should be found. For fans of exploration it may prove highly unsatisfying. The original game was extremely non-linear - almost to a fault. Give or take the odd locked door and secret tunnel practically the entire game world was open for exploration from the very beginning. This game goes to the opposite extreme, preffering to prioritize the storytelling over the exploration. And to be fair, that story is an interesting one.

One innovation i personally found to be a failure in this game was the attempt at a more immersive, intuitive interaction sytem. Instead of simply clicking on a lever to pull it for example, one must click it and then hold and drag the mouse vigorously across the screen. This led to some very mystifying moments early on, wondering why on Earth something wouldn't work. It makes a lot of hard work out of something that should be very simple (like removing a lid, for example) and really goes against the informal adventure game rule that the challenge should be in working out WHAT to do, not HOW to do it with the controls. In contrast to the positive innovations described above i feel this was a failed experiment.

The Bottom Line
Although similar superficially this game is a definite departure from earlier Dark Fall games. How much you will enjoy it really does depend on what aspects you most enjoyed in earlier games. If one liked most the exploration, the authentic, down to Earth creepiness and the solving of a mystery then it may disappoint. Those who like the bolder strokes of horror, the macabre, the jump out of your seat moments and an involving, progressing (and mature') story will probably find this to be the series' best entry yet.